


Not As Simple As Pain

by monochromefreestyle (monochromekiss)



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 18:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7543180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monochromekiss/pseuds/monochromefreestyle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru can cope with physical pain. He would rather ignore an injury than let down Rin and his friends. But Rin's harsh words hurt a lot more. When Haru's injury becomes worse, will Rin soon regret being so harsh? And will they finally be able to express their emotions?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not As Simple As Pain

**Author's Note:**

> My very first fanfic for the Free! fandom. So sorry if it isn't that good. 
> 
> Also, physical pain is easy to understand. But love and emotions are far more complicated. So that's the meaning behind the title.

 

It was the night before the national tournament when Haru decided to sneak into the Iwatobi Swimming Club. Haru had been excited about entering the tournament with his friends from Iwatobi, and about having the chance to compete with Rin again. So he had decided to practice in the Iwatobi Swimming Club pool. The fact that the pool was closed didn’t stop him as he climbed over the school gates.

Haru always felt strangely nervous whenever he competed with Rin, but swimming in the pool seemed to relax his nerves. Letting the water splash around his body, his worries and anxiety seemed to melt away. That was until he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his shoulder.

Haru wasn’t sure how long he had been swimming for. It had certainly got darker since he’d first started, so it must have been hours. Haru silently scolded himself for losing track of time as he climbed out of the pool, shaking his head a little. That only seemed to aggravate the pain. He must have overworked his muscles without realising.

As he dried himself off in the changing rooms he winced slightly. Every time he stretched his right arm even in the slightest, it seemed to bring back the pain again.  By the time he had finished changing back into his clothes the pain had become a constant throb.

Haru let out a pained gasp as he slung his heavy sports bag over his right shoulder, the pain suddenly becoming much worse. He quickly switched to his left shoulder, grimacing as he sneaked back out over the school gate.

The next morning came and Haru had hoped the problem would have rectified itself, but instead found the pain had become even worse. Haru let out another pained gasp as he sat up, his whole right arm feeling numb for a moment. He stood up from the bed, deliberately moving his shoulder around to loosen the stiffness. There was a small clicking noise and the pain shot through him like an electric shock, almost bringing him to his knees.

There was no time to dwell on his injury though. He could already hear knocking on his front door and Nagisa’s excited voice calling out to him.

“Haru-chan! Are you ready yet?” the young boy shouted loudly.

Haru’s eyes widened as he glanced at the clock. He’d overslept. Quickly dressing himself and packing his sports bag, he ignored the persistent pain as best he could.

He headed down the stairs, wincing again. Suddenly losing his balance, Haru stumbled down the last few steps, falling on to his side and slamming his shoulder roughly against the hard wooden floor. Haru groaned painfully, biting his lip and clutching his shoulder.

For a brief moment he couldn’t bear to stand up again, the pain overwhelming him as he lay limply on the floor.

“Haru-chan?! Are you okay?!” Nagisa called through the door, sounding panicked.

“I heard a loud thud. Do you think he fell?” Makoto’s voice asked.

Haru grunted softly, forcing himself up again. He swayed slightly, dark spots appearing in front of his vision. He worried he might fall again but eventually steadied himself. When his vision finally returned to normal he opened the door.

“Good morning” he greeted his two friends in his usual emotionless way.

“Are you okay?” Makoto asked with a concerned expression.

“Fine...” Haru replied, walking out of his house as he tried to act as normal as possible. His friends had been looking forward to this tournament for months. There was no way he was going to let his own stupid actions ruin it for them.

“Are you sure, Haru-chan? While we were waiting, we heard a big boom!” Nagisa said, throwing his hands up in the air for emphasis.

“I’m fine. Let’s go” Haru said, slinging his sports bag over his left shoulder. Makoto seemed a little puzzled by this but said nothing.

The three of them walked side by side as they headed to the place where they had agreed to meet Rei and Gou.

As expected, the group was extremely excited about the day ahead, talking incessantly of what was to come. The four boys each had their own events they would enter, but the most exciting part of the day would be the medley race at the end.

Haru was excited too but the pain he still felt overshadowed it. He walked alongside his friends in silence, but that wasn’t so unusual. Haru had always been quiet, and had always struggled to convey his feelings. None of them said a thing, although Haru felt a little uneasy at the way Makoto kept glancing back at him.

He hoped Makoto wouldn’t realise something was wrong. He wanted to swim the medley race with his friends and work as a team, even if it would mean more pain. But most importantly, he wanted to swim the 200m freestyle with Rin.

Rin had always been the one person who could change Haru’s expressionless face and make him show emotion, even if it was only for a brief moment.

Haru’s heart skipped a beat slightly as he thought of seeing the maroon-haired boy again. It had been so long since they had last seen each other. Far too long. Their meetings were so rare now that it meant the world to Haru whenever they were side by side in the pool.

He decided there and then as he pictured Rin’s smiling face. He had to fight through the pain: for Rin.


End file.
